Covering 14 countries and spanning nearly 16,000 miles, the Pan-American Highway is the world’s longest continuous road. A few weeks ago, Volkswagen made the decision to prove the strength and durability of its star SUV, the Touareg, and the longest highway ever made was the perfect place to do it. As a celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Pan-American Highway’s completion, Volkswagen gathered up a specialized team led by adventurer and off road driver Rainer Zietlow to break the record. After 11 days, 17 hours and 22 minutes of non-stop driving, Zietlow, his team and a 2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel have set a new Pan-American record.
“Our adrenaline is still pumping after setting the new world record on the Pan-American Highway,” said Zietlow. Alongside other his other teammates, Carlos Fernandez and Marius Biela, Zietlow began the trip at the southern-most tip of Argentina. They traveled North through 14 countries and didn’t stop until they reached ‘road’s end’ in Deadhorse, Alaska. Their trip wasn’t without mishaps as a major sandstorm took place while traveling through Chile. “We were able to overcome every weather challenge along the way.”
It may have been a challenge to drive through, but the Touareg powered through to break the previously set record by more than three days. Not much was done to the Touareg mechanically as it retained a completely stock, factory supplied 3.0 liter turbo diesel V6 with 225 horsepower and a ground-pulling 406 lb-ft of torque. On top of proving the strength of the Touareg TDI, Zietlow and team also helped out a good cause. For every kilometer driven, 10 Euro cents will be donated to Plan International to help two Latin American villages.
